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South Bronx, East New York lead NYC in littering and panhandling tickets, analysis finds
By
Ben Feuerherd
and
Carol Chen
Published Nov 6, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
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Carol Chen / Gothamist
By
Ben Feuerherd
and
Carol Chen
Published Nov 6, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
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NYPD officers are issuing criminal tickets for low-level offenses like loitering, panhandling and littering in the South Bronx and in East New York, Brooklyn at higher rates than anywhere else in the city, according to a new data analysis.
In 2025 and the first half of this year, more than 60% of the criminal summonses the NYPD issued for loitering were written by officers in just one of the city’s 78 police precincts — the 40th, in the South Bronx — according to an analysis published earlier this week by the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College.
Audrey Martin, a spokesperson for the New York Legal Aid Society, said the new data shows that police are unfairly targeting neighborhoods where many low-income people of color live.
"Policing strategies like saturating neighborhoods with summonses fail to change anything except for how much time our neighbors spend fighting tickets or how much money they pay out of their pockets,” Martin said.
Residents of the neighborhoods who spoke to Gothamist had mixed opinions about such enforcement, with some supportive of the NYPD and others critical of low-level ticketing.
The analysis comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani has faced intense criticism about his handling of policing issues, including for allowing the NYPD to continue a crackdown on what the NYPD calls quality-of-life crimes and violations. As a candidate for mayor, Mamdani said police should focus on solving more serious crimes, but quality of life enforcement has continued at a similar rate as the final year of the Eric Adams administration.
Loitering summonses from 2025 though half-way 2026
Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College
NYPD spokesperson Bradley Weekes said in a statement that NYPD officers in the South Bronx and East New York precincts are responding to increasing numbers of 311 calls. He said in the 40th precinct, in the South Bronx, 311 calls have increased 215% since 2015. In the same period, they’ve increased 556% in the 75th precinct. He did not immediately say whether there are disproportionately more 311 calls about low-level offenses in those precincts than in others.
Weekes added that the number of summonses citywide has not grown over time. The overall number of criminal summonses currently being issued by officers is at similar levels to what they were during Bill de Blasio’s administration, not counting the years during the pandemic, he said.
He said that in the South Bronx and East New York, the number of criminal summonses being issued by officers is down this year compared to the same period last year. Officers in the 40th precinct in the South Bronx have written 20% fewer criminal summonses, and officers in the 75 precinct in East New York have issued 15% fewer, he said. The analysis notes criminal summonses are on track to decline slightly in 2026, with officers on pace to issue 101,192 in 2026.
Panhandling summonses from 2025 though mid- 2026.
Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College
Police officers issue criminal summonses for violations that could be covered by lesser civil tickets — like open container violations — for a variety of reasons, according to the NYPD patrol guide. If someone is a recidivist, has a warrant or if an officer finds a "legitimate law enforcement reason” to do so, they can issue the more serious criminal summons.
Few are convicted
The vast majority of the criminal tickets that NYPD officers issue wind up being dismissed, according to a previous study by the same John Jay College group. In 2024, judges who heard criminal summons cases threw out 65% of them because of paperwork issues or because they were legally insufficient.
Malaika Holder, 32, a lifelong Bronx resident, says she's not surprised police issue a high number of tickets for loitering in her neighborhood — but finds it "sad"
Ben Feuerherd / Gothamist
In the end, only 9% of the criminal tickets issued in 2024 ended in convictions, according to the study. The researchers found that even if people end up getting their tickets dismissed, they are punished anyway because they often lose time and wages fighting a ticket in court.
Racial disparities in summons enforcement have also persisted for years, according to the most recent analysis. In the first half of 2026, nearly 82% of criminal summonses were issued to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers, according to the data.
Michael Rempel, a researcher at the Data Collaborative for Justice and an author of the dashboard, said violations like having an open container of alcohol or loitering, are ones where police officers have the most discretion.
They are not the kind of offenses officers respond to after getting 311 complaints, Rempel said. “Clearly it's a choice to issue those types of summonses in large numbers,” Rempel said.
Residents have mixed feelings
More than a third of the city’s panhandling complaints from 2025 through the first half of this year were issued in the 40th precinct, in the South Bronx.
Antigone Raynaud said she comes to a busy shopping district called The Hub in that area regularly to make extra cash selling her blood plasma at a medical office. Raynaud said drug use and homelessness seem like understandable reasons for police to patrol the area. But, she added, a criminal summons for loitering could turn into an arrest warrant if the person doesn’t pay it — and she said that seems like too severe a punishment for a low-level offense.
“To be standing somewhere and get a ticket, not show up, and then now you're getting arrested, I think that's a bit excessive,” Raynaud, 30, said when she heard the area led the city in such tickets.
Alcohol in public summonses from 2025 though mid 2026
Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College
Malaika Holder, 32, is a lifelong resident of the Bronx who lives in Mott Haven, another neighborhood in the 40th precinct. In an interview earlier this week, she said she was not surprised residents there are ticketed at high rates for something like loitering — but said she found it sad.
“I do feel like the residents of the Bronx do have this very tense relationship with police and law enforcement, especially because in the Bronx, a lot of the community and what the culture is just loitering and just hanging out in different spaces,” she said. “A lot of our third spaces are stoops.”
Holder added that even though there may be an issue with people using drugs in the area, she thought that should be addressed with resources other than the police department.
“I don't think we should be criminalizing people who are looking to substitute their hard times with vices,” she said.
In Brooklyn, officers in East New York issued 855 criminal summonses for alcohol in public in 2025 through the summer of 2026, the most out of any precinct in the city. The tickets accounted for 8% of the citywide total, the data shows.
East New York residents offered a variety of opinions on the enforcement.
Das Angshu, 57, a plumber who lives in the neighborhood, said he welcomes the police presence.
“I see the police all the time right around here. They are doing a public service. I don’t see them doing a lot of ticketing,” Angshu said. “ I see them, I feel more safe. They are very fair.”
Kenneth Willis, an 18-year-old student, said he supports the police in stopping serious crimes, but said he’s concerned low-level enforcement will pit police against residents.
“ It's gonna create tension within the neighborhood, especially you already have people that don't like cops,” he said. “You're making it so people have to go to court, people have to pay money, people have to pay money that they don't have, it's gonna cause problems.”
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Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Carol Chen
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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